Dr McDougall is right about Vitamin D - and everything else

[Jerry Angelo]

Just got back great results from my blood test, all results were normal, I don't believe I have ever had everything in perfect range in 30 years... I am truly and sincerely grateful for everything Dr. McDougall and Jeff Novick have done for my health the last 22 months.
I have been able to get off several medications because of their work and now it seems I have sucessfully avoided starting to take another.

There has been many threads and debates about Vitamin D on this forum. I've been on the fence for many months with many of you on this issue while my doctor pleaded with me to take supplements. After my test in February, my doctor strongly suggested that I take his prescription for Vitamin D...

I wrote to Dr. McDougall, even having read all of his newsletters on the subject and the many points of views here on the boards.
He answered and told me that they were useless and dangerous... All I needed to do was get out in the sun a little bit every day.

I took his suggestion. My decision coincided with going strictly MWL for 6 weeks. I felt better immediately and I wanted to go outside. I wanted to because not only did I need to get some sun, but I felt like moving. I felt like moving because I felt so good on MWL.

So I started to walk and I got some rays most days of the week. This all started in late March of this year and I've been doing so since.

Between February of 2015 and February 2016, my vitamin D readings were 20.7 - 22.3 - 23.5 - 23.4

My test taken 2 days ago came back at 33.2 without supplementation, just walking outside 4,5 days a week...

I did exactly what Dr. M said to do and just like I benifited from listening to his writings for everything else, so did this too.
The advice is simple, get some sun!

I lost more weight, got a great tan and saved myself from taking a pill... Thanks Dr. McDougall!

[Atheria]

Awesome! Approximately how long are you outside and how much of your skin is exposed?

Thanks!
Atheria

[Jerry Angelo]

Thank you!

Most of my walks are 90 minutes to an 2 hours, 4 or 5 times a week...

In the last 3 or 4 weeks I've been riding my indoor bike more and more because it's been way to hot but I spend a lot of time outdoors in the pool and I still walk at least once a week so I've consistently have gotten sun for the last 4 - 5 months.

There is shade where I walk and sometimes I walk very early in the morning but I guess what I did was more than enough to increase my levels almost 40% in such a short period of time.

[Atheria]

Thanks Jerry! I'm always torn because yes, we need sun, but I have a lot of skin cancer in my family and I've already got too much sun damage from living in NM for 6+ years (and now CO which is also sunny.....not to mention all my years in CA....OR was the only non sunny place). I tend to be too lazy for sunscreen on anything but my face, though, which my arms, chest, shoulders, and legs have paid for.

I think most people don't have 1.5-2 hours a day to walk outdoors during the peak of the day.....hmmmmm....

Thank you,
Atheria

[Jerry Angelo]

Thanks Jerry! I'm always torn because yes, we need sun, but I have a lot of skin cancer in my family and I've already got too much sun damage from living in NM for 6+ years (and now CO which is also sunny.....not to mention all my years in CA....OR was the only non sunny place). I tend to be too lazy for sunscreen on anything but my face, though, which my arms, chest, shoulders, and legs have paid for.

Yes, do be careful, quite the balancing act for sure... You lived in lot's of nice places Altheria!

I think most people don't have 1.5-2 hours a day to walk outdoors during the peak of the day.....hmmmmm....

Thank you,
Atheria

I'm lucky in that I get to work at 6 am and get off at 4pm, I'm walking or biking by 4:45... But I will say even though time is very precious sometimes we have to do what we have to do... for our health is all we really have... Glad to be putting myself first sometimes lol

[Atheria]

I'm sadly unemployed right now so I have time. LOL

[Chrysalis]

Dr. Greger recently made another video touting the benefits of supplementing vitamin D and is quite concerned with getting it from the sun instead. Not because the sun wouldn't help you produce enough, but because of cancer risk. The health world sure can be confusing sometimes.

I personally just trust my gut instinct that the sun isn't dangerous for me unless I let it burn me. So I take my precautions by not staying exposed for more than an hour and I also eat a lot of antioxidant rich foods.

[Jerry Angelo]

Dr. Greger recently made another video touting the benefits of supplementing vitamin D and is quite concerned with getting it from the sun instead. Not because the sun wouldn't help you produce enough, but because of cancer risk. The health world sure can be confusing sometimes.

I personally just trust my gut instinct that the sun isn't dangerous for me unless I let it burn me. So I take my precautions by not staying exposed for more than an hour and I also eat a lot of antioxidant rich foods.

I agree with everything you said... I typically walk between 1 or 2 hours - 4 to 5 times a week and I'm not completely exposed at all times as there are shady portions of the routes I take. I have never gotten burnt from walking and on the contrary, I look & feel much healthier with some sunlight. I've read just about everything Dr. McDougall has said about Vit D supplements and I am much more wary and afraid of them than I am of the sun.

[mapat]

It is not just about sunlight. I (and many others I know) have always gotten plenty of sun; still had low vit d levels. Yet after changing my diet, even after one really,really cold winter when I pretty much did not go outside at all, my levels were considerably higher. Can't find the references now, but also read that vit d from sun was not absorbed well without natural oils on skin. Also magnesium levels and gut bacteria affect vit d absorbtion, and something about vit d being used to process calcium, so eating dairy or taking calcium supplements could also lower vit d levels; All of which would be helped by eating this way.

It kind of amazes me how many things we really no longer have to worry about when we commit to eating this way and taking better overall care of ourselves.

[Jerry Angelo]

It is not just about sunlight. I (and many others I know) have always gotten plenty of sun; still had low vit d levels. Yet after changing my diet, even after one really,really cold winter when I pretty much did not go outside at all, my levels were considerably higher. Can't find the references now, but also read that vit d from sun was not absorbed well without natural oils on skin. Also magnesium levels and gut bacteria affect vit d absorbtion, and something about vit d being used to process calcium, so eating dairy or taking calcium supplements could also lower vit d levels; All of which would be helped by eating this way.

It kind of amazes me how many things we really no longer have to worry about when we commit to eating this way and taking better overall care of ourselves.

Very, very true... Eating the right foods, omitting the wrong ones, reducing or getting rid of prescriptions, moving and exercising more all cumulatively contribute to better test results and health. It's a domino effect and it all starts with eating better as Dr. McDougall & Jeff Novick have brilliantly laid out for us.

I have a laundry list of things that have disappeared or gotten significantly better.

"It's the food"

[veggie lover]

My vitamin D levels are low. I get outside and ride my bike a lot but I have a lot of sun damage to my skin so I always wear sunscreen. Seriously, it looks like I have vitiligo where I have gotten a bad sunburn on my shoulders, neck/chest area and my back, because my skin peeled off and the pigment to my skin peel off with it! So I am really torn about what I should do.

[Jerry Angelo]

I am fortunate that, so far, it has worked for me. I'll feel even better if all continues to go well for at least a year. I would feel the exact same way in your shoes. The sun in Arizona is nothing to mess with I'm sure.

Work closely with you doctor and dermatologist and find the best solution for your individual needs...

[Franchesca_S.]

What those of us who live in colder climates? I now live in Reno, NV and used to live in Minnesota. Summers are nice but in winter it would be unwise to go outside and remove ones shirt.

[mapat]

Something else to consider:

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may reduce levels of vitamin D in the body, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Natural-Health/exposure-chemicals-endocrine-disrupting-EDCs/2016/10/04/id/751601/

[Willijan]

Regarding Vitamin D, I wonder about two things:

1) Who says what blood levels are appropriate? Why believe what mainstream medicine says about this? Does anyone know if Dr. McDougall has addressed what specific blood levels we need? I have never read anything where he mentioned what levels we should have, just that we need regular time in the sun.

2) You know, humans have gotten plenty of sun for all our time on earth. It seems like it shouldn't hurt us too much, absent other damaging factors. Not that I would overdo time in the sun, but really, it is a natural thing. Something else has got to be going on to cause high levels of skin cancer in the population.